The Strangers
by Watson124
Summary: What happens when the Host Club ends up at the Phantomhive mansion?
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Ciel's bright blue eyes narrowed as he turned the page of his new spell book. There were so many incantations here–which one should he try first?

Picking one at random, he began to chant the words…

Until…

"No no no, my lord."

"Wha–?" Ciel turned around, fixing an icy stare on the one who had spoken. "And why can't I cast a spell, Sebastian?" he asked, a note of warning in his voice.

"Because you don't know the effects of these spells," the butler pointed out, taking the spell book out of his master's hands. "It's dangerous to experiment with dynamite, wouldn't you agree?"

Ciel just sighed. "Whatever. Go make me some tea." Privately, he doubted that the book was actually legit. He didn't understand why Sebastian was making such a big deal out of it, but he didn't question it.

The butler bowed. "Yes, my lord." He turned away and headed down the corridor, Ciel's spell book in his hands.

Luckily, the young master had anticipated being interrupted by his butler.

Which was why he had hidden a second one in his desk.

He retreated into his quarters, opening the drawer and pulling out his spare book. He opened it again, and, taking a deep breath, he uttered the first spell he saw.

Suddenly, the room started spinning, there was a flash of blindingly white light, and that was the last thing Ciel remembered before he passed out.

_Meanwhile…_

"Tama-chan! Do you want some cake?" Honey asked, clutching his teddy bear to his chest. He gazed up at the third year high school student, widening his big brown eyes pleadingly.

"Yes, cake would be nice," Mori agreed.

Nearby, Kyoya was typing away on his laptop, a worried frown on his face. "Speaking of which, our cake sells have dropped by forty percent, but thankfully our visitors have skyrocketed in the past two weeks," Kyoya added, his features relaxing.

"Yes, they just can't get enough of us," Tamaki purred, hugging a certain slender brunette close. Haruhi flushed. "Actually, I think we have Hikaru and Kaoru to thank for all the guests we've been having lately," she pointed out.

Hikaru bowed. "Thank you, Haruhi. But really, we have the sun to think." He flashed a thumbs up, his and Kaoru's hazel eyes lighting up in a similar fashion. "After all, it was the one that gave us this tan," Kaoru added. "The ladies just can't resist it."

Suddenly Kyoya pushed his glasses farther up his nose. "I think you must have brought the sun with you. The room is glowing."

Slowly, the Ouran Host Club realized Kyoya was right.

"What kind of tan did you guys get?" Haruhi asked, her brown eyes widening.

Before the twins could answer, they, along with the rest of the host club, faded away from Music Room Number 3…

Only to realize that they were now in a huge, unfamiliar mansion…

Being faced down by a butler.

**1**

"W-wha…where are we?" Tamaki asked the butler, meanwhile trying to look everywhere at once.

"I believe you are in England," the stranger said in a mild British accent. He looked so calm and accepting that it was as though no strangers at all had spontaneously appeared in front of him. Pffft, what're you talking about?

Kyoya motioned towards a framed picture of a queen that was hanging on the wall. "That's Queen Victoria, right? By any chance are we in England's Victorian Era?"

"Don't be silly, Kyoya!" Hikaru purred, whilst Kaoru burst into laughter. "You make it sounds as though we just randomly went back in time!"

"Actually, your friend there is right," the butler said. "This is in fact the Victorian Era. I take it you are not from around here."

"No, we're not," Haruhi spoke up for the first time. She met the butler's eyes unflinchingly. "We don't know how we got here, but we just want–"

"To go home!" Honey broke in, burying his face into Mori's leg. The stoic patted the former's head soothingly, but he looked just as worried as the rest of the Host Club.

"Before you go running off, I would like to know your names, and how you ended up in the Phantomhive mansion," the butler said smoothly.

"We'll tell you that if you tell us your name," Haruhi said firmly.

The butler bowed formally. "My name is Sebasitan Michealis. I am the butler of this mansion."

He straightened up, narrowing his eyes as the hint of a smirk made its presence known in his features. "Now, tell me your names, and how you came to be here."

Kyoya was the first to introduce himself. Not because he was outgoing or looking to be friends with this butler. No, he wanted his introduction to be out of the way so he could observe this mansion–and this butler– while the others stated their names.

He looked around the mansion room, letting his gaze travel slowly over the spiral staircase, the aforementioned large picture of Queen Victoria hung for all to see on the center of the wall, the large, crystal, translucent chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and all the other grandiose features of this, what was it?, Phantomhive mansion. It wasn't all that different from his parent's own mansion, really. It was just, somehow, more…nineteenth century, which was to be expected, considering the era. His gaze came to rest on the butler. Already there was something about this Sebastian fellow that told him loud and clear there was more to this butler than met the eye. Much, much more. Sebastian's red eyes swept over the entire Host Club, gleaming with interest. His dark hair swished around his shoulders, his clean tailcoat matching the color of his hair and somehow adding to Kyoya's theory that this butler was not who he seemed. The boy narrowed his eyes. Sebastian. Who are you, really?

Suddenly Tamaki's voice entered his mind. "And we are…the Ouran High School Host Club!" He, along with the twins, Mori, and Honey, struck a dramatic pose. Haruhi and Kyoya were the only ones who didn't try to fall all over themselves to please this strange butler. Mostly because… "Tamaki! This is the Victorian Era! They have no idea what the Ouran Host Club is!" Haruhi snapped at the blonde. "No offense," she added apologetically to Sebastian.

"None taken," the butler said smoothly. "Now, how did you come to be here?"

_Later_

**Ciel's POV**

"W-wha…?" The young master grunted. Someone was shaking him awake.

He slowly opened one eye, taking in the unamused Sebastian standing over him, Ciel's spare spell book tucked under his arm. Ciel sighed and levered himself into a sitting position on his bed, grabbing his eyepatch from the nightstand and putting it on. "What happened?"

"You passed out, my young master," Sebastian said smoothly.

"Why?"

"I believe it is because you said something out of this spare spell book of yours, wouldn't you agree?" Sebastian, though obviously unhappy, sounded strangely neutral.

"I suppose," Ciel muttered, unhappy at being found out. Then something occurred to him. It was a ludicrous question, but he wanted to ask nonetheless. "By any chance, did the stupid spell do anything" Ciel asked. "Other than make me faint, I mean?"

"As a matter of fact it did. Seven people are here now, claiming to be from the twenty-first century. They call themselves, I believe it was, the Ouran High School Host Club."

Ciel gaped at his butler, completely and absolutely floored. "Are you making this up?!"

"No, my young lord. They're down there now in the dining room, sipping tea and being entertained by the servants. They have no idea how they got here," he added.

"I bet they don't," Ciel muttered. "I'll go down and meet them."


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

5 Minutes Later

After introductions, awkward silence filled the room. Even the usually-lively servants, whom were standing nearby, seemed subdued. The tension was overwhelming. No one dared to meet another's eyes.

But, as everyone knows, all it takes is that one person. That one person who doesn't sense the mood and continues to try and make conversation with the other party, unaware of his own friends' silent telepathic pleas for him/her to just shut up for God's sake, and thus unintentionally making things more awkward.

Which was exactly what Tamaki, being Tamaki, was doing right now. "So have you ever been entertained by a host?" he asked Ciel, his blue eyes bright, seemingly unaware of how preposterous his question was.

"W-what?" the British boy scowled. "No. It doesn't sound like it's all that, anyways."

"That's where you're wrong, my friend!" Tamaki said, his face lighting up. "The Ouran High School Host Club serves tea–"

"–and cake!" Honey broke in happily.

"That's right, and cake, to all its visitors. Our mission–"

"Is to make every girl happy," Mori spoke up, smiling a teeny bit at Ciel.

Ciel just grunted, his face expressionless. "It seems like your intentions are well."

"Of course!" Tamaki replied, his face bright and his eyes sparkling.

"Well, while I wouldn't mind hearing more about this rather…fascinating Host Club of yours," Ciel lied "I also don't understand why you seven aren't more worried about going home."

"Well, you're the one who got us here," Haruhi spoke up. "We're just waiting for you to send us back."

All seven Host Club members straightened, their gazes fixed expectantly on Ciel, looking as hopeful as ever.

Hm… Ciel narrowed his eyes. An idea was starting to form in his mind. Its resolve strengthened when he heard Mey-Rin, whom had left a little while ago to go prepare lunch, drop the plates with a loud crash!

Usually, he would have been ticked off and ordering Sebastian to go clean up the mess. Today, however he was smirking deviously, and he didn't speak to his butler, but instead to the Host Club. "No."

"I beg your pardon?" Kyoya asked, looking confused.

"We know how to send you back," I think, "but we always could use an extra pair of hands, and it seems like it would be a shame to waste this opportunity," Ciel finished.

"So you're never sending us back?" Haruhi asked, panic beginning to flare up in his brown eyes. He looks like a girl, Ciel thought disdainfully. "Yes, of course I'm sending you back eventually," he said aloud. "I was only talking about today. If you successfully complete the chores, we will send you back at the end of the day."

"W-what if we don't?" Honey stammered, looking nervous.

Ciel was actually planning on sending them back no matter the quality of the chores, but a part of him wanted to see what these kids could do. But before he could open his mouth, Tamaki spoke. "We won't worry about that, Honey," he declared. "Because we're going to do amazing!"

Ciel almost smiled.

10 minutes later

Hikaru and Kaoru stared around the kitchen. What had they gotten themselves into?

The chores for today had been divided up amongst the seven of them: Tamaki was in charge of the laundry, Haruhi and Kyoya were in charge of window washing, Honey and Mori were in charge of sweeping and tidying up around the house, and Hikaru and Kaoru were in charge of cooking.

Ciel had dismissed the servants for the day, and, as a result, it had been Sebastian who had offered them cooking assistance. For some reason both the twins were now unable to fathom, they had turned down the butler's offer, claiming that they "could make a mean British dish."

Looking slightly amused, Sebastian had, mistakenly, left them to their own devices.

Now, the twins were looking around the large kitchen, completely and utterly baffled. Back at home, the maids always fixed their meals–the twins usually didn't have to worry about stuff like cooking.

Until now.

"Uh…Hikaru? Maybe we should find that butler again," Kaoru suggested tentatively. "I mean, we could always swallow our pride if we have to and ask him what we're supposed to be doing–"

"No, Kaoru! This could be fun! We just need to figure out what the heck we're doing in this prehistoric kitchen!" Hikaru protested. Because yes, it was confusing as all get-out. But it was also unique, different, and a very rare opportunity. They should take advantage of it!

"I suppose so," Kaoru agreed reluctantly. He ambled over to the pantry and opened it up, only to have the the contents tumble out, aforementioned contents mewling in confusion. Kaoru blinked. "Uh…Hikaru? Why are there cats in the pantry?"

When his twin didn't respond, Kaoru glanced over. "Hika–oh…" His brother had a multitude of cats sitting on his head and shoulders; not to mention another entire army of them in his arms. He didn't look very happy about it either.

At that moment, in walked a tall, slender young woman. Her red hair streamed down almost the length of her entire body, her green eyes bright with curiously behind her red glasses. Said glasses were accessorized with what appeared to be a neck chain that had skulls. She held a chainsaw by her side.

Both twins eyed the chainsaw a bit warily, but fell into their "act" nonetheless.

"Oh, Hikaru," Kaoru breathed. "Please don't be angry about the cats! They look absolutely fabulous on you~"

Hikaru dropped his armful of cats. "Oh, don't fret, Kaoru! This isn't your fault~ I know that you, my dear brother, don't have an unhealthy obsession with kittens~"

They both paused for effect before coming together in a dramatic embrace.

Then they separated, glancing over at the woman for her reaction. It dawned on them both that this was was the nineteenth century–who knew how this would be received?

But they needn't have worried. The young woman was already dashing out of the kitchen, her wide grin flashing teeth that, if the twins hadn't known better, would have thought were spiked. She was charging upstairs in a matter of heartbeats, shouting at the top of her lungs: "Oh SEBASTIAN!~ Grell is looking for youuuuuuuu!~" The twins' "act" seemed to have, somehow, given her Sebastian-related ideas.

Her footsteps faded away, and "Grell" was gone. Both twins looked at each other in bewilderment. "So…she wants that butler

Sebastian to love her," Hikaru said slowly, obviously trying to mentally put the puzzle together.

"Well, we're the Host Club!" Kaoru said enthusiastically. "So we can help make it happen! It's what we do, after all!"

Hikaru brightened. Matchmaking sounded like a much better way to spend their afternoon in nineteenth-century England than toiling about in a cat-infested kitchen. Hopefully Ciel wouldn't find out...

"Let's do it," he agreed. "But first, I think we should enlist some help."

And so that was how they ended up with Tamaki, explaining their situation and the poor Grell who just wanted her some butler love. "…So, since we're the Host Club, I figured we could help," Kaoru explained

Tamaki, whom had been scrubbing a shirt hard on a wash board the entire time the twins had been explaining, paused in his task and straightened. "Of course I'll help!" he agreed. "I was a bit tired of this chore anyways." He motioned to his shirt, which, upon closer examination, had a cat-shaped splotch of water on it. "Don't ask," he said ruefully.

The twins blinked. "Okaaay…"

And so, after somehow managing to pry the rest of the Host Club away from their chores–all of which seemed to have had Cat Encounters of the First Kind at some point–they all regrouped outside of Sebastian's quarters.

Their mission to matchmake Sebastian and that woman Grell, whoever she was, had begun.

Little did they know the chaos that would soon unfold…

**Feedback please!~**


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